


Tony Stark is Killing It, In Terms Of Husbands Talking About Problems

by Dillian



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Christmas, Established Married Relationship Between Tony Stark and Loki, M/M, Married Tony and Loki, One Shot, Post-Thor Ragnarok, Sibling Relationship Between Thor and Loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 20:11:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13131255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dillian/pseuds/Dillian
Summary: My favorite part aboutThor Ragnarokwas how it looks like Thor and :Loki are starting to get past their differences, and reconnect with each other as brothers and comrades-in-arms.  This story comes out of that.A story about myself:  One time my ex and I were visiting my sister and her husband.  Afterward my ex was all mad, because she said my sister and her family had been being "mean" to me.  I loved her so much for being a protector, and taking my side.  In this story, Tony is being the protector, and wanting to take care of his husband, who's big brother was so "mean," when he was visiting for Christmas.





	Tony Stark is Killing It, In Terms Of Husbands Talking About Problems

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DaimeryanRei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaimeryanRei/gifts).



**_The Avengers_** **,** **_Iron Man_** **,** **_Thor_** **, and** **_Captain America_** **, and all situations and characters thereof, belong strictly and solely to Marvel Comics.  This is a fan-work, meant for enjoyment only, and not for any material profit.**

“Is he always that mean to you?”  This is Tony, talking to Loki, after the first time they have Thor over to their house.  Oh, and also it’s Christmas Day, did I mention that part?  This is toward the end of the day, like, five PM.  It’s the part of the day when all the fun stuff has happened, and you’re left with a mess everywhere.  Tony doesn’t have to do his own cleaning, naturally, but it hasn’t been done yet, and it’s starting to get irritating.

Loki is doing some of the cleaning.  Why?  Good question, pampered princelings don’t normally clean up after themselves any more than spoiled billionaires do, but who knows?  Maybe the mess just bugs him, or something.  He’s going around the room, he’s picking up wrapping paper and stuff.  Tony’s question takes him by surprise.

“ _I_ _s_ he always that mean to you?” Tony repeats.

“Who, Thor?”  Loki turns and looks at him.  This is Sarcastic Loki, his face cold, but his eyes steaming-hot, every word knife-edged.  “Is my brother mean to me?  What do _you_ think, Stark?”

It used to really bug the shit out of Tony when his husband would call him “Stark,”  Now he’s kind of figured out that it’s a defense mechanism.  Not that he’s any good at comforting him when he’s like this.  Tony Stark is never going to be anybody’s first choice as a comforter.

He’s over at the sideboard right now, pouring himself a drink.  Single malt, two fingers.  It’s been a rough day, family stuff is hard.  He waves a glass toward his husband.  “You want a drink?”

Loki looks at him with withering scorn.  “Oh look, Tony Stark is _drinking_.  Well, I guess it must be Monday.”

A brief hurt look goes across Tony’s face just for a moment.  Then he reminds himself:   _Defense mechanisms?  Hello?_  “You didn’t mean that, did you?”

Loki looks full at him.  “Yes, Stark, I did.  You drink too much.”  He turns away for a moment, picks up a piece of wrapping paper.  Then he goes over to the sofa and sits down, folding and unfolding the bit of paper in his hands.  “Don’t try to understand about me and Thor,” he tells his husband, “because you won’t be able to, because it’s impossible.”

“He must have knocked you down five times, just before dinner.”  Tony sits down in the armchair opposite the sofa.  He’d like to sit down next to his husband, maybe comfort him a little.  Right now he’s kind of afraid to.  He sips his drink (which he probably shouldn’t have, because yeah, Loki’s right, he does drink too much).  “I get it, family stuff’s complicated,” he says, “but Jesus Christ, you didn’t knock him down, did you?”

“Because I can’t.”  Loki’s still folding and unfolding that same piece of wrapping paper.  Fold-fold, silver snowflakes on a red background, then fold-fold-fold again, now all that shows is the white underneath-side.  And Loki’s looking down at the paper.  Then he looks up at Tony.  ‘That story about me stabbing him when I was eight?  It happened.”

“Why?”

A shrug from the God of Mischief.  “I don’t know.  Because he was stronger than me, because I was a brat.  Because that’s what little brothers do, they throw temper-tantrums.”

“And then the big brothers knock them across the room one more time or stick a hammer on top of them?  Jesus, Loki.”  Tony’s looking at his husband.  He wants to go over there and grab that damn piece-of-garbage wrapping paper out of his hands, he wants to kiss him until all his problems disappear and he’s the fun, Happy Loki he is most of the time, but he suspects it wouldn’t work.  He stays where he is.  For once they’re going to talk about the bad feelings, instead of just fucking them away.

...Maybe they are.  If Tony can manage it.  I believe I mentioned already, he is _not_ what you’d call an Expert at Comforting People.

Loki’s looking at him.  There is a world of skepticism in those green eyes.  His eyes say, “You’re an only child, Stark, you don’t know shit about brothers…”  No, they say, “You’re the ultimate ego-monster, Spoiled-Selfish Tony, who doesn’t know shit about caring for anybody but your own precious self.”  Tony stays in the room, though.  He stays because Loki’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him.  It hurt, seeing how Thor treated him today.

“Why did you want to have him over here anyway?” Tony says.  “We could have had anybody…  You must have known he was just going to knock you around and shit.”

“Hmmph, family.”  Loki gives a sarcastic snort.  ‘Why do you use that BARF thing in the basement over and over, to talk to your father, Stark?  You must know you can’t change the fact that he was a selfish asshole.”

“Because he’s dead.”  A nod from Tony, understanding lighting in his brown eyes.  “And Thor’s still alive.  That’s it, huh?  It’s because you’re hoping he’ll change?”

A shake of the head from the God of Chaos.  “Thor will never change.  He’ll go to his grave, the same selfish, egotistical, bullying…”  He stops.  “No, that’s not true, Thor has changed.  But that’s still not why.”

“Why, then?”  Tony dares to move over to the sofa.  He takes one of Loki’s smooth white hands in between both of his rougher ones.  “If you’re not forgiving him, and he’s still not being gentle…  I watched you two together, you’re like a cat and a dog.  He was knocking you around all afternoon, and then you’d get back up and you’d say all those nasty things.  I just don’t get it.”

“You don’t know much about families, do you?”  Loki cups Tony’s face with one gentle hand.  He tilts his head, now it’s leaning against his own shoulder.  Tony feels silky dark hair against his cheek, he smells Loki’s spicy fragrance.  “Poor Tony,” Loki croons, “raised by a servant, in that lonely penthouse of yours.  You missed so much, didn’t you?”

Tony could go to sleep like this.  They have gone to sleep, cuddled up together on the big sofa, they’ve done it lots of times (although usually there was some sex involved first).  Loki feels so comfortable, and he smells so good…  And yeah, Tony has had more than a few drinks, over the course of the day, maybe he’s even had too many.

“Tell me a story about when things were right between you and your brother,” he tells his husband, and Loki does.

It’s a crazy story, lots of snakes involved:  Loki magics a cup of wine into being full of snakes instead, and the servant-guy gets all scared, and he jumps back, and the wine goes spilling everywhere.  And then Thor laughs…  Loki’s got this fond, happy smile on his face, when he tells that part.

“It’s because you can make him laugh?” Tony asks his husband.  “That’s the connection?”

Loki shrugs.  “Maybe that’s part of it, I don’t know.”  The condescending look comes back onto his face, and his voice gets all patronizing again.  “Thor’s a musclebound clot,” he says, “he can’t help that.  Smarter people like you and I have to learn to be patient.”

“Yes, yes, of course, you’re so brilliant.”  Tony leans up, snatches a kiss right on his husband’s pouty lips.  “First circuit-board when I was four,” he says, “first working robot when I was ten.”

“First successful illusion when I was _three_.”  Loki lifts a hand.  “Here’s one I don’t think I’ve shown you yet.”  There’s a wave, little back-and-forth movement of Loki’s fingers in the air.  Then Tony hears hissing, which seems to come from everywhere.

“Jesus God, what the fuck is that?”  Tony sits up.  He looks all around the room, but he can’t _see_ anything.

Loki waves his hand again and the hissing stops.  He gives a soft chuckle.  “I did that once when I was ten, and they had to evacuate the palace.  Even All-Father was terrified.”  A soft smile, a reminiscent voice:  “He said he was terrified, anyway, and Mother said it was the best magic she’d ever seen from a boy my age.”

“Do it again.”  Tony sits up, watches every nuance of Loki’s move.  “Give me 48 hours,” he says, “and I’d totes have that down.”

“No you wouldn’t.”  Loki gestures, and the hissing stops again.  Then a third gesture, then a fourth.  The hissing stops, and starts, and stops again.  You know that old scene from _The Simpsons_ where Homer’s like, “Bed goes up, bed goes down,” etcetera?  This is just like that, only with more reptiles.

Tony has to laugh.  “I could master magic,” he says, “if you’d just teach me.”

“Yes, I’m sure you could,” says his patronizing husband, “because you’re Tony Stark, the biggest genius in the world.”  He leans over and brushes a kiss onto Tony’s cheek.  “Don’t worry about me and Thor,” he says.  “We’re evenly matched, and we do get along in our own way.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Tony says.  “But it does make me mad to see him hitting you like that.”

“Because you’re a protector.”  Loki kisses his husband again.  “My heroic little mortal.”

“Not so little.”  Is that a note of real hurt in Tony’s voice?  Mortals can be such a sensitive lot.

“No, no, of course not.”  Loki hurries to smooth things over again, the only way he knows how.  “You could be, what, five three?  Five four?  Four feet two and a half?  Whereas you’re a great big five foot seven, aren’t you?  That’s just enormous.”

“Five foot eight, if you don’t mind.”  Tony stands, stretches.  “You want to blow this joint and get some dinner?” he says.  “I hate sitting around in a messy room.”

“You could just have FRIDAY clean it, how hard would that be?”  Loki gets up too.  “I want Chinese,” he says.  “And we’re getting a taxi, I don’t want you driving.”

“I haven’t had that much today,” Tony protests, but he gets the taxi anyway.  And they drive to their favorite Chinese restaurant, and have a good dinner, and then come home and have lots of really good sex.  Overall, not a bad Christmas, and Tony thinks he totally killed it, in terms of Talking About Feelings.


End file.
